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Who's expanding their event space to the Port of Rochester?

Agathi Georgiou Graham and her husband Edward Zachary Graham are co-owners of Arbor at the Port, a new event space in the Port of Rochester.(Photo: JAMIE GERMANO/@jgermano1/Staff Photographer)Buy Photo

“You could never get a view like that that anyone could afford on any lake or oceanfront anywhere in the country,” said Agathi Georgiou, who owns Arbor Loft and who will build out and run the new space with fiancé Edward Zachary Graham.

“What could be more perfect than to have a space in the city that gives our guests an opportunity to have that urban feel, and then, if they want, have their ceremony on the beach?”

Here are the juicy details:

They plan to open in June and are taking bookings for weddings, corporate or charity events, or other large events.

The original Arbor Loft space and the new space are both approximately 5,400 square feet, and seat between 200 and 250 for a seated dinner.

The Charlotte space is in one of the areas used by the former fast ferry service, which transported people between Toronto and Rochester before its abrupt ending in 2006.

Georgiou, Graham and their team are currently in the beginning stages of renovations, which include repainting, new flooring and new plumbing and electrical work.

It’ll have a similar look to the original Arbor Loft location, but a bit more ballroom-esque, with huge windows, white walls and white chandeliers.

Georgiou and Graham will be one of the first to get married there when they tie the knot in July.

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The Port of Rochester is the home of a new event space, Arbor at the Port. (Photo: JAMIE GERMANO, @jgermano1/Staff Photographer)

When The Arbor Loft came onto the scene in 2016, it brought a fresh approach to both event planning and setup. Its “blank slate”-style space allows brides, corporate planners and others to craft their dream event in partnership with the Arbor Loft team, which is willing to flex and innovate to bring clients’ ideas to life.

Bringing that model to the Port of Rochester will attract a similar audience, but with aesthetic advantages like the waterfront, said Georgiou. She’s not worried about asking people to leave the downtown bubble — Charlotte is in Rochester but is sandwiched between Greece and Irondequoit — because of increased transportation options and Arbor’s rock star team.

“Between our team and the service we provide, we do a really incredible job of making people feel it is a one-of-a-kind experience,” she said. “There are enough people in the community that see the potential in traveling to a space on the beach.”

Graham, who met Georgiou while ramping up business for Makers Gallery and Studio, an events space he owns on Elton Street, has been part of the effort behind Arbor Loft from the beginning. Seeing a second location come to fruition, especially on a site associated with "one of Rochester's blunders," is satisfying, he said.

"We're excited to bring some fresh new air into it … and get people excited about this, because it's a beautiful space and a beautiful area," he said.